Jodi Peterson

Associate Editor

Pigeon enthusiasts in Oregon are apparently illegally killing hundreds of hawks and falcons. The fanciers breed “roller” pigeons that tumble through the sky; to raptors, these genetically crippled birds are easy pickings. So to protect their pets, breeders have been trapping and killing birds of prey, including rare peregrine falcons. So far three breeders are facing charges after a 14-month Fish and Wildlife investigation.

David Patte is with the US Department of Fish and Wildlife in Oregon: “We, I think, know that there are at least 40 members of roller pigeon clubs, or hobbyists, in Oregon. The levels of killing that we have seen from the first three defendants we have talked to indicate to us that 400 to hundreds, it could be thousands of birds are being taken every year.”

And the pigeon hobbyists boast of their kills. The following, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting, was posted on a pigeoners’ blog, celebrating the deaths of five peregrines that had been released to the wild:

“I laughed and I laughed when I heard this story because of all the painstaking measures to get these birds to adolescence. And then to have somebody take them out, was simply bliss. When you do this, use the ‘three-s’ system: shoot, shovel, and shut up.”

Ah, that time-honored Western tradition for dealing with inconvenient species: shoot, shovel, and shut up. At least when ranchers do it, their actions can be understood (but not excused or justified) as protecting their livelihood. But killing a federally-protected bird of prey to save a hobbyist’s pigeon?